Karla Otto is a globally recognized public relations and communications agency, founded in 1982, with offices in 15 key cities across the UK, EMEA, US, and Asia. With a strong presence in fashion capitals such as Milan, London, Paris, and New York, the agency has built a reputation for representing some of the most prestigious names in fashion, beauty, and lifestyle.
In 2017, Karla Otto merged with K2 to form THE INDEPENDENTS, a global marketing, design, and communications group. This collective brings together industry leaders who share a commitment to innovation, excellence, and thoughtful collaboration across the luxury and lifestyle sectors.
At Karla Otto, our team of expert strategists, designers, planners and publicists are dedicated to delivering exceptional results and establishing long-term partnerships with our clients. We are passionate about the world of fashion, beauty, and luxury, with everyone bringing their unique expertise and insights to the table. We are driven by a shared commitment to excellence and a deep understanding of the ever-evolving industry landscape.
Karla Otto London is looking for a dynamic and enthusiastic individual to join our HR team. This is a great opportunity for someone looking to develop their experience within HR and play a key role in supporting our global team. Working in a fast-paced and vibrant luxury fashion environment, you’ll have the opportunity to get involved across a broad range of HR activities.
The ideal candidate will have experience in day-to-day HR administration, a good understanding of HR processes and practices, and an awareness of relevant employment legislation.
Key Responsibilities
Your responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Reporting directly into the UK Senior HR Manager, providing support across a variety of HR projects, processes and initiatives.
Lead the end-to-end onboarding process for new starters, coordinating activities across multiple HR systems and ensuring a smooth employee experience.
Confidently navigate and maintain multiple HR systems, including Workday and Teamtailor, ensuring employee, recruitment and organisational data is accurate and up to date.
Maintain payroll and Learning & Development systems, ensuring employee information is accurate and any changes are processed in a timely manner.
Proactively identify opportunities for continuous improvement, helping to streamline HR processes, systems and ways of working.
Maintain accurate employee records and HR files, ensuring new personnel information and employee changes are reflected across all relevant systems.
Monitor sickness and absence records, ensuring information is accurately recorded across relevant systems and calendars.
Support recruitment initiatives and processes through Teamtailor, including maintaining candidate information and supporting recruitment administration.
Prepare essential HR documentation, including offer letters, employment contracts and contract variations.
Manage and maintain UK organisational charts, while providing support to other territories where required.
Support the HR Manager in delivering key people processes and initiatives that contribute to a high-performance culture.
Act as a point of contact for employees, responding to HR-related queries and providing guidance on HR processes and systems.
Provide support across additional ad hoc HR projects and initiatives as required.
HR Systems: Workday | Teamtailor | Payroll Systems | Learning & Development Systems
Key Attributes
Ability to work independently, while also being comfortable collaborating with others and taking initiative where needed
A high level of integrity, discretion and an understanding of the importance of confidentiality
Strong attention to detail and a thorough, organised approach to work
Strong interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal
Comfortable using Microsoft Office, particularly Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint and HR systems
A proactive, positive and enthusiastic approach, with a willingness to learn
A flexible and solutions-focused approach, with the creativity to think differently and find effective ways to approach challenges
Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment
At Karla Otto, we are always looking for personalities with positive charisma who are enthusiastic, self-motivated, and have a keen sense of aesthetics.
Karla Otto embraces and celebrates diversity, inclusivity, and equal opportunity. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. Karla Otto provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, colour, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.
We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join our team!
The Independents is a global ecosystem of 21 best-in-class partner agencies crafting extraordinary brand experiences that captivate audiences worldwide. In collaboration with its clients across the luxury and lifestyle industries, The Independents creates meaningful connections between people and the brands they love.
The Independents’ curation reflects an expansive roster of industry pioneers, including 2 x 4, Atelier Athem, Atelier Lum, Bureau Béatrice, Bureau Betak, Bureau Future, Ctzar, Inca Productions, k2, Karla Otto, Kennedy, Kitten Production, Kitty Events, Lefty, Lucien Pagès Communication, MA+Group, Prodject, Sunshine, Terminal 9 Studios, The Qode and We Are Ona. The group’s capabilities span research, core strategy, communications strategy, design, production and distribution, a scope that adapts to every creative challenge.
The group translates strategic insights into creative concepts, which are developed into personally relevant experiences that engage local and global audiences by way of its presence in Milan, Paris, London, Munich, Barcelona, New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha and Riyadh.
In March 2025, The Independents launched L’Incubateur, a pioneering initiative conceived to identify, support and accelerate the next wave of talent, entrepreneurs and creative agencies on a global scale. Since June 2023, The Independents has been backed by Banijay Group and TowerBrook Capital Partners.
